Election petition: 705 registered abroad ; EC reveals

The Electoral Commission (EC) has complied with the Supreme Court order asking it to furnish petitioners challenging the declaration of John Dramani Mahama as President in the December 7 and 8, 2012 general elections, with details of the registration exercise it carried out abroad. However, details are emerging about the figures submitted, as the total number of Ghanaians registered abroad is believed to be far lower than the figures the commission included in the declaration of the results of the general election. So far, the EC said 705 Ghanaians registered in Ghanaian missions abroad where registration took place, whereas the Commission quoted that over 241,000 people were registered. However, this included diplomatic staff, security persons on peace mission, students on Ghana government scholarships and Ghanaians serving with international bodies. The EC, in its answers to the petitioners, indicated that even though it had announced initial provisional figures of 13,917,366, after the registration of Ghanaians abroad, it arrived at 14,158,890 voters; a difference of 241,524 registered voters. The petitioners, comprising the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate for the 2012 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party's chairman, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, had filed an

application for 'interrogatories' to get the EC to furnish them with the documents on the people registered overseas. The particulars requested were in respect of Ghanaians serving abroad including foreign service officials, students on government scholarships abroad, Ghanaians working in international organizations and security service personnel returning on duties and the mode of registration. The petitioners had argued that the application had been moved because of the answer given by the EC after the petition was filed. The EC, in answer to the petition, submitted that over 200,000 votes from categories of voters registered abroad were included in the final results of the election. continued